


Let's start again, Tora

by TheRaspberryPancake



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Asexual Kozume Kenma, Cheating, Haikyuu Timeskip, M/M, MSBY Black Jackals - Freeform, Meeting after five years, New Beginnings, Pro Volleyball Player Yamamoto Taketora, Streamer Kozume Kenma, VC Kanagawa, ex boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:47:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29608269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRaspberryPancake/pseuds/TheRaspberryPancake
Summary: Yamamoto loved his asexual boyfriend, he really did, but a man has needs and he had to take matters into his own hands. However, when Kenma caught him cheating with a first year girl, he regretted everything.Five years later, the pair meet again at an empty bar in Tokyo. How will it play out?
Relationships: Kozume Kenma/Yamamoto Taketora
Kudos: 10





	Let's start again, Tora

“Are you sure he’s not going to find out?” The first-year girl asked as the taller shoved her against the lockers, pinning her wrists and beginning to unbutton her shirt.

Yamamoto growled slightly and kept working his way down the buttons of her shirt. “Of course he’s not going to find out. Has he found out before now?” The small girl shook her head. “Exactly.”

This wasn’t the first time that the pair had done this together. With the girl’s cheer practices ending at around the game time as Tora’s volleyball practice, it was pretty simple for them to stay behind until their teammates had gone home. She was younger than Tora, having two years between them, but they’d known one another pretty much their whole lives. She was a neighbour of his, and a friend of his younger sister, Akane, who had also started high school that year. The girl had loved Tora for many years and, by the time she’d got to her first year of high school, she’d finally worked up the courage to confess. However, when she’d asked him to meet her at the back of the school, she wasn’t aware that he was in a relationship with Kozume Kenma.

Tora himself hadn’t been that bothered by the confession. He’d told her exactly what his relationship with Kozume was, but he also accepted her feelings… well, kind of. What he’d actually done was offer her a compromise. He couldn’t date her without leaving Kenma, and he wasn’t willing to do that, but he was completely fine with being friends with benefits. It wasn’t his fault that he was willing to cheat! As much as he loved Kenma, the boy was asexual! Tora was a teenage boy! He had needs! It’s not like Kenma would ever find out, right?

Back into reality – he finished unbuttoning her shirt and let go of her wrists for a second so that he could slip it off of her shoulders and slender arms, letting it drop to the floor. His eyes lingered on her tits for a brief second and he licked his lips. “I’ll never get over how beautiful your body is…” The small girl’s face turned red and she mumbled out a string of flustered objections. He simply chuckled and reached around her, unhooking her bra, and letting it drop to the floor along with her shirt.

She whimpered softly and tried to cover herself with her hands. “Did you have to do that? We’re literally in the locker room, someone might walk in…”

Tora raised his eyebrows. “I’m literally about to fuck you and you’re worried about someone walking in and seeing your tits? That’s your biggest concern right now?” He moved her hands and, with a single one of his hands, pinned her wrists above her head. “There’s nothing to worry about Doll, the boys have all gone home, no one’s going to catch us.”

She nodded shakily. “If you say so…” Still, she couldn’t shake her nerves that someone was going to catch them. Usually when they did this, they at least did it in one of the showers with the door locked so no one would see them if they came back for anything. This time though, Tora had decided that they would be safe just doing it in the actual locker room. He hadn’t listened to her protests but that was ok. Even if she was worried, he knew what he was talking about.

The pair were so lost in each other’s bodies and touch that neither of them noticed when the locker room door swung open. Kenma had forgotten his volleyball shoes after changing. He didn’t necessarily _need_ to come back for them, but he felt like he should, just in case someone else took them next time the locker room was used – the volleyball team didn’t have practice for a couple more days. However, before he could even start walking to the locker he left them at, he spotted his own boyfriend, pinning some whore against the lockers as if they were about to fuck. His eyes widened and he felt his heart wrench. “…What in the fresh shit is this?!”

Yamamoto heard the familiar voice, and he froze. “..Kenma?” He backed away from the younger girl, who instinctively covered herself with her hands and arms. He was just imagining this, right? There was no way that Kozume had actually caught them doing this! What should he do? Was it even a good idea to look at the other right now? No, he had to at least look at him. I would be rude of him not to and, considering what he’d just been caught do him, he had to be polite and nice and make everything right for as long as needed so that Kenma wouldn’t leave him. He slowly turned to face him. “It’s not what it looks like babe, I promise…”

“Not what it looks like?” The pudding head basically spat out the words, the veins in his forehead threatening to pop out. He was angry, so damn angry! But he also felt hurt and betrayed. “Not what it looks like?! I walk in on you feeling up this whore and it’s not what it fucking looks like?! Miss me with that bullshit Tora! I’m not that fucking stupid!” His boyfriend just stood there, stammering, and clearly looking for an answer. “That’s what I thought…” He shook his head. The other didn’t even have an excuse prepared other than ‘it’s not what it looks like’, fucking typical. He couldn’t believe he ever expected anything more from him. He turned on his heels and started to run. He needed to get out of here! Out of the locker room! Out of this damn situation!

“Kenma wait!” Yamamoto pulled his shirt back on and did up his pants quickly before running after his boyfriend, leaving the first-year girl in the locker room to sort herself out. The other wouldn’t stop running! God, he’d really messed up this time. “Babe please! Let’s talk this out!”

“There’s nothing to talk out! You cheated on me! That’s all there is to it!” He stopped running, just for a second, but didn’t turn and face him. He just stood there, seething with anger, his hands clenched into fists as he visibly shook. “We’re over, Taketora. Run on back to your little whore. You made your bed now lie in it.”

He felt his heart shatter into a million tiny pieces, piercing and scraping his insides as they plummeted down to his feet. “Kenma wait-… don’t do this…”

“It’s Kozume to you.”

And with that, he was gone, leaving Yamamoto to stand alone. Why? What had come over him to not only hurt Kenma-… to hurt Kozume, but take advantage of his sister’s friend for nothing more than to fulfil his own desires? All because Kozume was asexual and he was too damn horny to think straight. What was wrong with him? Would he ever get Kozume back? He doubted it. Looking down at his feet, he kicked at a pebble resting by them, sending it scattering across the concrete. “Fuck…”

~~~

Five years had gone by since that day. Kozume had quit the volleyball team promptly after the incident but, although he had been shunned by his teammates for what he did, Yamamoto continued to play. Volleyball was his new love. It stepped up, taking Kozume’s place as the main focus of his life. From an outsider’s perspective, it might sound incredibly sad, but it was Tora’s way of coping with the guilt. The sport consumed his entire life in what was basically one fail swoop and he regretted nothing about that. Volleyball could never hurt him, and he could never hurt volleyball. How could he hurt a sport? Exactly. It was perfect.

And that’s how he ended up in his career of choice - the dream he’d had since middle school. At 23 years old, he was now an outside hitter on the Kanagawa volleyball team. They weren’t a very well-known team, even though they were in the first division, but that didn’t mean they were weak. Kanagawa had a fair number of wins under their belt, not limited to this season. The only reason that they were fairly unknown was due to the fact that the Jackals and the Adlers outshined them every season without fail. If it weren’t for them, they’d be so much more well-known! Mind you, that was no one’s fault but their own. Oh well, it didn’t bother Tora, not one bit. As long as he got to play volleyball, he was ok with it. This was his dream career after all. Besides, it was so much better to win a match as the underdog!

He had a game like that today actually, where they weren’t expected to emerge victorious. They had an exhibition match against the Jackals today. The Jackals were one of the top teams in the V league and Yamamoto was hyped to be able to play them again, for the first time this season. They were in the locker room right now, getting changed ready for the game. Even though, most people were under the impression they didn’t stand a chance, Yamamoto wasn’t concerned. They were both first division teams, meaning that they were in the same league which in turn meant that they were at least at similar skill levels. The Jackals might be the kind of team to play at one hundred percent no matter who they were facing, but Kanagawa always played their best to. Even if they lost if they tried their best he’d be fine with it. They’d just have to train harder to beat them next time.

“Alright fellas, gather around.” Their captain, Riseki, claps his hands, signalling for his teammates to listen to him. The boys quickly finished changing and walked over, forming a circle, and looking at Riseki who started to speak again. “As you all know, the team that we’re facing today are pretty tough, but I don’t want any of you to think that we can’t do it. It is entirely possible to beat them – they in their 20s, just like us, so there’s no excuse for any of you to give up before the game begins, especially those of you on the starting line-up. Do I make myself clear?” A chorus of ‘yes captain’ was heard around the circle and Reseki smiled. “I’m glad. Now, let’s go and kick some ass!”

~~~

While it was true that Kenma frequently travelled for work, being a CEO is rather tiring, he always made sure to be back in town when Hinata, the man he was sponsoring, and his team had a match in Tokyo. He’d heard via text that the Jackals were playing an exhibition match against VC Kanagawa so, naturally, he made sure that he was able to attend the game. So here he was, in the stands with a face mask on and his hood up (he didn’t feel like getting recognised). Much like everyone else in the stadium, he was expecting the Jackals to win, but he was still wishing for Kanagawa to stand a chance. It’s no fun to watch if one of the teams just gets absolutely clattered right off the bat.

There was another reason that he wanted it to be a fair game, other than the fact that it’d be boring if Kanagawa just got their asses handed to them. Yamamoto, his high school ex-boyfriend, played outside hitter for VC Kanagawa and he wanted to see how the man faired against his prodigy, Hinata Shoyo. He hadn’t met with Yamamoto since their breakup back in high school, but he’d heard through the grape vine that he’d really honed his craft over the years. He wasn’t planning on seeking him out and talking to him today, but he at least wanted to see if the rumours about his improvement were true.

The game was scheduled to be starting soon and the two teams entered the court, beginning their various warmup routines. Kenma, sat in the front row of the top deck, leaned on the half wall at the front of the stands, preventing the spectators from accidentally falling to their deaths. His eyes scanned over the two teams, spotting the players he recognised from his high school days pretty quickly. On the Jackal’s side, he recognised three of the players. Obviously, one of them was Hinata. There was also Atsumu, who he recognised from the Karasuno vs Inarizaki game back at nationals in his second year. And, of course, there was Bokuto. How could he ever forget Bokuto? Anyway, he also recognised three players from Kanagawa. There was some guy from Inarizaki and another guy from Shinzen; he remembered the training camps they’d been to together back in school.

Finally, there was Yamamoto. As he looked at the man, he quickly realised that he hadn’t changed a bit. He still sported the exact same side-shaved hair cut he’d had since his first year of high school. Kenma didn’t mind this though, not that the way the other decided to cut his hair was any of his business, as, in his opinion, it really did suit him. He felt his face heat up under the mask as he stared at his ex. Sure, what had happened had hurt him at the time and he still had a couple of trust issues as a result of that, but he’d come to terms with the fact that it was a silly mistake. He and Yamamoto were still teenagers at the time. They were young and childish, and everyone makes mistake in their teenage years. He had faith that Yamamoto had grown up and changed his ways. While he didn’t know if this was true, he wanted to believe it was so, seeing as he’d never really moved on from Yamamoto. People don’t fall out of love that easily. Back when he’d been cheated on, he hated the fact that his feelings for the other had remained. However, as time went on he simply accepted them. Being in love with someone you haven’t seen face to face in five years sure is difficult but, once he’d learned to live with it, it turned into somewhat of the norm. Of course, he was still supporting the Jackals during this match, but he at least wanted the man he loved to put up a good fight.

~~~

About an hour and a half later, the match ended. The Jackals had won, to the surprise of nobody. However, what had come as a surprise was the fight that VC Kanagawa had put up during the game. Yes, they were outmatched by the opposing team, but they weren’t going to go down quietly. Both teams had taken a set with the Jackals just sneaking by to take the last one. Yamamoto was indeed disappointed that they hadn’t managed to pull through with the victory but there was a crumb of contentedness within him due to the fact that they had come closer to beating them than ever before. Next time, they’d get even closer, he was sure of it. Hell, they might even beat them. Yeah, they could totally beat them one day! They’d just have to train harder and harder until that day came!

The guys were currently back in the locker room, changing out of their uniforms and back into their regular clothes. There was a general buzz of conversation between them, same as always, but Taketora wasn’t paying attention to it. That is, not until a specific conversation caught his attention. “Hey, did anyone else see that guy up in the stands?” Chigaya asked, buttoning up his shirt and looking over his shoulder at the rest of the group. There were a few mumbles of ‘which guy?’ and he rolled his eyes. “Christ, you must know which guy I’m talking about. The guy in the upper stands with the hoodie and the face mask.”

“Oh, that guy.” Riseki joined in on the conversation. “Yeah, I noticed him. I wonder how he even got into the stadium – they usually don’t let in people with face coverings. Fear of terrorism, or something like that.”

Yamamoto scoffed a little. “Considering how skinny the guy was, I doubt he could pose a threat if his life depended on it. He looks like he could be snapped in half if the wind blew the wrong way.” He had spotted the guy when he was scanning the crowds before the game begun. It’s hard not to look at someone who decided to conceal their identity, for some reason or other. The reason the guy was wearing a mask wasn’t any of his business. Maybe he was afraid of being recognised? That seems plausible… Also, he did seem pretty familiar to Tora, for some reason.

“Didn’t he seem familiar though?” Chita, the youngest member of the team, spoke. Yamamoto mentally chuckled. He found that comment rather ironic, considering he was just thinking about how he somewhat recognised the guy. “I mean, call me crazy but he kind of reminded me of Kodzuken. Did anyone else feel like that?”

Yamamoto froze up. There was no way that _the_ Kodzuken, his ex-boyfriend Kozume Kenma, had turned up to some random exhibition match. No, the guy was way too busy being a streamer in addition to being the CEO of a pretty damn successful company. “Chita, you’re crazy.” He managed to croak out through his mild shock and panic. What if Kozume had actually come to the game? While he doubted he’d come to see Tora in particular, it was still embarrassing. This was the (potential) first time that the man had seen him since high school, and he’d lost the damn match! “There’s no way he’d turn up to some volleyball game just for the hell of it. Do you even know how much the guy has on his plate?”

Chigaya laughed. “Yeah, like _you’d_ know how much he has on, Tora. Didn’t you guys break up after you cheated on him? Because I heard through the grapevine that you two haven’t spoken since.”

Tora rolled his eyes. Of course Chigaya remembered that. He’d ended up ranting to him about the Kenma situation at a training camp towards the end of third year. He wasn’t expecting him to _still_ remember it though; that was mildly irritating. “Dude, the guy’s literally famous and, by basic deduction, you can figure out that his schedule is pretty damn full. Do you even know what common sense is?”

“The hell did you say-”

“Alright boys, pack up the petty arguments.” Riseki folded his arms, glaring at the pair and causing them to each mumble out a ‘sorry captain’ respectively. Once he was satisfied with the apology, he dropped the glare, suddenly becoming deep in thought again. “Thinking about it, doesn’t he sponsor that ginger kid from MSBY? Shoyo Hinata, right?” Around the group, there are nods. “Right, so it’s plausible that he showed up to watch the guy he sponsors, and his team, play.”

Taketora froze up more. There was no way that he’d actually turned up to the game! He refused to believe it! Chigaya noticed this and a smirk tugged at his lips. “Ooh, Tora’s ex showed up to watch him play and we lost, how embarrassing~” He teased, laughing to himself.

The other flared up. “Shut up Chigaya! And we just established that he came here for Hinata, not for me. The only embarrassing part about this is your piss poor memory!” That last comment earned him a smack on the head from Riseki. “Ow! Captain that hurt!”

“Yeah? Well maybe you should stop fighting with your teammates.” He sighed, rolling his eyes. “As punishment, I’m sentencing you to start a conversation with Kozume, if that was, indeed, him.” He watched as Yamamoto’s eyes widened and raised his eyebrows. “You better not be about to argue with me on this. I think it’s about time you make peace with your past.”

~~~

And that’s how Yamamoto ended up in the situation he was in currently. The bar was pretty much empty, except for a few people in the back corner playing pool and the guy sat right at the bar, having a couple of drinks. His long, two toned hair was tied up in a low bun, but a few lone strands were escaping, cascading down his back. That man was Tora’s target. Kozume Kenma, his ex-boyfriend who Riseki had demanded he sort things out with. Sighing, he walked over to the bar and slid onto a stool beside the man, ordering a drink. While he waited for his drink, he looked at the other. “You do know that your hair’s falling out, right?”

Kenma, after recognising that voice, nearly spat out his drink. “Yamamoto?” What was he doing here? Shouldn’t he be with his team still? He hadn’t been involved in sports since high school but, if he remembered correctly, most teams would spend time together after matches, even if they didn’t win. “What are you doing here?” Did he follow him? Did he recognise him at the stadium and decide he wanted to talk to him? Maybe his disguise wasn’t as good as he thought it was.

He shrugged, leaning on the bar, and looking forward again. “Came here to get a drink. That’s what bars are for, right?” While it was true that he’d followed Kozume here, he wasn’t about to admit that. “What about you? What’s someone as rich as you doing in a dead end, empty place like this?”

Subtly rolling his eyes, he took another sip of his drink. “Why would someone as rich as me be in a crowded hotspot? I’m trying not to get recognised, dipshit. Not to sound self-absorbed, but if I go anywhere even mildly crowded I’m getting swarmed.”

Yamamoto chuckled. “That’s fair enough.” The bartender handed him his drink and he thanked her and placed the money for the drink on the bar. “Keep the change love. Have a good night.”

The woman smiled and took the money, walking over to the register and putting it away. “Thank you sir.” She nodded at him and went back to doing what she was doing before, leaving the pair to their conversation again.

Kozume looked at Tora with a small smile. “Well that was nice of you.”

He laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I guess so…” It’s not like the change mattered to him though. He was a semi-famous athlete; he had a fair bit of money. He wouldn’t say he was loaded but he was certainly well off. “Anyway, how’ve you been recently? Still mad about what happened in high school?” He cringed at the condescending way that came off. He didn’t mean to sound like that much of a prick! He’d understand completely if Kozume was still mad at him. What he did was awful, he wouldn’t forgive himself either.

Kenma simply shrugged, not seeming too bothered by the question or the tone in Yamamoto’s voice. “Nah, not really. I thought about it a lot and then realised that, while what you did was wrong, it’s not that big of a deal, not anymore.” He looked forwards again, his elbow on the bar and his chin in his palm. “We were young and stupid, and people make mistakes when they’re young. I’m over it.” He looked back at Tora again. “So if you followed me here-” He watched as the other’s eyes widened and sighed. “Don’t give me that look, it was pretty obvious that you followed me. Anyway, if you came here to apologise to me, there’s no need.”

“Right…” He felt as if a massive weight had been lifted off of his chest. Kenma wasn’t mad. It was all ok. A small grin crept across his face. Did that mean they were on good terms again? Well, he wouldn’t say good terms but maybe ok terms? Yeah, it should be fine to assume they were on ok terms. “…also question, can I call you Kenma? Or is it still Kozume?”

“Kenma is fine.”

“Ok.” His grin grew wider. “Kenma…” The name rolled off of his tongue, the same way it used to all those years ago, and it sounded so damn good coming out of his mouth – at least, he thought so. His heart had been pounding in his chest for a while now, but he was only just noticing it. He felt his face heat up. God, was he red? Was he blushing? What if Kenma saw him blushing? That’d be embarrassing. But when he looked at the other, he realised that he wasn’t looking at him at all. He was looking down at his lap, where his hands were resting, and tugging at his fingers. He looked to be deep in thought. What was he thinking about? No, the more Yamamoto looked at him, the more he realised that the other seemed distressed. “…Kenma? Are you ok?”

“I never got over you!” He blurted out before going bright red and promptly covering his mouth. Why did he say that? Didn’t he have any self-control? Oh my god, he’d totally scared him off or… something like that. No, he hadn’t scared him, he’d just freaked him out which was worse! So much worse! “Fuck, I didn’t mean to say that out loud… I’m sorry…”

Yamamoto was completely red in the face by now. Kenma had never got over him? Was he dreaming? He’d known he was still in love with Kozume for what felt like forever but never in his wildest dreams did he think his long-time feelings would still be returned. What was he supposed to say to that? Should he tell him how he felt also? That seemed right but maybe it was too soon for that. They had only just met again after five whole years, after all. But Kenma had already confessed to him; it wouldn’t feel right to keep his feelings a secret after that. Yeah, he had to tell him. It was the only correct response. “There’s nothing to apologise for… I never got over you either.” Well, there were better ways he could’ve said that but at least he’d said it.

The blush darkened on Kenma’s face. “Y-You didn’t?” He cringed at the stutter. He hardly ever stuttered so why now? He was so ashamed by that, and he’d had some embarrassing moments during his career as a streamer leading him to believe that no face-to-face interaction could make him feel even an ounce of shame. Alas, he was wrong. But it didn’t matter. What mattered was that Tora still liked him. He was failing to show anything but fluster but, god, he was so happy. “…then let’s start again, Tora.”

Yamamoto smiled, taking the other’s hand, and lightly kissing the back of it. “Starting again sounds nice, Kozume. And I promise I won’t make the same mistakes I did.”


End file.
